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BLONDIE
Blondie sprang from the gritty loins of the New York punk scene in the early '70s. Deborah Harry met Chris Stein. Debbie was soon lured away to form a new band along with Fred Smith and Billy O'Connor. After using various names, they adopted the one that truck drivers shouted at Debbie in the street and, as Blondie, the band recorded a demo featuring "Platinum Blonde”. When Smith in 1975, Burke's optimism prevented the group from folding. His enthusiasm was infectious, and with Gary Valentine and Jimmy Destri on board they resumed rehearsing. The result was a perfect debut single, "X-Offender". The group signed to Chrysalis and recorded Plastic Letters with Frank Infante replacing Valentine on bass, although the latter's "Presence Dear" was one of the LP's highlights. After the recruitment of English bassist Nigel Harrison, Infante moved to guitar for the grueling world tour that preceded the magnificent Parallel Lines (1978). The cover of John Holt's "The Tide Is High" (1980) became Blondie's fifth UK No. 1 in two years, and was a taster for Autoamerican (1981), which also contained the early rap crossover single "Rapture." Both were American No. 1's, but the stand-outs were Chris's edgy film intro.
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